Mongolian New Year’s Day

It is 8:26 a. m. as I leave our ger. Mongolian custom requires to welcome the New Year’s Day with open arms. I position myself before our ger, turn my face in the direction of the east and stretch my arms against the rising sun. Besides, I wish for us health and happy travels.

During breakfast we ask ourselves whether we should visit the Tuwa families. The custom prescribes to have a present for every guest. “I do not feel fine with the thought to appear suddenly in their tepee”, says Tanja. “Humph, I believe the people would understand it rather as insults if we not visit them on such an important day”. “Probably you are right”, says Tanja hesitantly. “Apart from the fact Tsaya has declared to us to have to hand over a bank note to the host. With it the present compensates itself. And if the people give on us afterwards a return visit, they receive a present from us. Therefore, the balance is created”. “You have persuaded me. Whom should we visit as the first? Gamba?” “Yes,he is with the oldest man in the camp”, I answer. At the moment we have decided to visit the families of the camp two young girls dressed in deels rumble in our ger. They welcome us, “Sain bajtsgaana uu!”, (“good day”) happily giggling and sit down on the small folding stools. “Do you want a bread with nougat cream?” Tanja asks. She already had prepared a plate for possible visitors. “Oh!”, cackle both clucking. “So here have a cup of milk tea”, says Tanja caring to the girls a bowl of it passing. “Hi, hi, hi,”, they answer. Before the excited girls have eaten their bread they get as a gift of Tanja a nice hair slide. Laughing they leave the ger. The door is hardly in the wooden frame crashed the 6-year-old Erkhenbayar already comes in our home. Politely he welcomes us after the holiday custom while he with upwards directed palms under my arms touches. Also he gets tasty nougat cream bread, a bowl milk tea and a small comic figure.

Shortly after 12:00 o’clock at noon we stand before Gambas log cabin and make some noise. Then we open the door and step in the hut. “Nice to see you!” shouts Purvee and demands us friendly laughing to take place. Before we follow to her request we welcome Gamba while we hand him a bank note. According to the zolgokh (form of salutation) we wish him luck, health and a long life in prosperity and satisfaction. Pleased about our wishes which are comparable with the wishes for our New Year he stretches his arms. Even I am some month-older than Gamba I reach with upwards directed palms under his arms to support him. I bend forwards to the brother’s kiss and smell according to the custom at his left and right cheek. Gamba sniffs meanwhile in my cheeks. Then the ritual is completed. Now I repeat everything with Purvee. “Come. I would also like to congratulate you”, bawls Nyam Dalai who crouches down on the ground. He reaches under my arms and sniffs in my cheeks. His breath smells of vodka and the greeting feels rather thus that he licked with his humid tongue over my check. “Come drink a little glass with me”, he says and passes to me a small mug. Also Tanja is requested to the drinking. She puts the little glass to her lips, acts thus as it would swallow and hands back it nearly as fully. Because she is a woman her gesture is accepted favorably. “Take a seat”, Purvee requests us once more. “Bairlalaa”, (“Thank you”) we answer and sit down. Purvee moves a small table before us and puts a big thermos jug, full with salted milk tea on it. In addition a pot with candies, biscuits and sugar cubes. Hardly we have poured out ourselves a cup of tea, Purvee offers us a cigarette. “Amttaj”, (“tasty”) we praise the tea and the cake. Only one minute later our hostess directs a bowl with freshly cooked Buuz ( mince filled Dumplings) on a small table. “Ide, ide” (eat, eat) we understand. On the New Year’s Day for the Mongols as well as for the Tuwa it is a matter of having filled the belly up to the border as a guarantee for a happy life in the coming year. Also it is for them of importance to be able to offer as much as possible to every guest. This should bring prosperity, health and wealth. Also the excessive consumption of vodka is announced. Purvee has made a big preparation of the log cabin for the solemnity. Already days before she started to wash all blankets and covers. A time consuming thing, because the water must be melted for it from the got together snow. This is for you Denis, Purvee says me passing a cheap, Chinese perfume. Oh many thanks, I am glad, while Tanja gets as a gift a pair of child socks. “As it is required to the custom we visit now our next relatives. Do you want to accompany us?”, asks Purvee. “With pleasure”, we answer pleased.

At 13:00 o’clock we walk to Buyantogtohs tepee. The sister of the shaman receives us also joyfully. Gamba, Purvee, her son Sansar, Tso, Saintsetseg and we welcome her like the custom expected. Each of the visitors passes a bank note to the hostess. Mostly between 500 and 1,000 Tugrik (0.28 and 0.57 Euro ). Then Buyantogtoh offers us a place on the wooden boards close laid above the floor. We just took a seat, Buyantogtoh hands round a bowl with biscuits and other sweets like candies and sugar cubes. With a sort of incense which the Tuwa find in the taiga, the shaman blesses meanwhile the area which is determined to the spirits and gods. He swings the smoking branches, in front of a big bundle of white, blue and green material stripes. While the guests talk lively, drink milk tea and eat sugar cubes and biscuits, Buyantogtoh gets frozen Buuz of the hide beside her tepee. In the half with water full wok, she puts a round metal with holes in. On it she prepares the Buuz and lifts the wok on the stove. After 20 minutes the Buuz are ready. The sister of the shaman takes the pan now from the stove. Straight away she hands round her tidbits. Everybody accesses as if he had eaten nothing before. A bottle of vodka is also opened. Gamba blesses it, while he types his right finger in the highly concentrated alcohol to flick him then in all four directions. Now, after the spirits have got their part again, he passes to me the little glass. “Hubaaa”, he demands me to drink the stuff at once. “If I drink furthermore so much I can not visit any more of your other relatives”, I try to get out of the affair. “Today is the Tsagaan the Saar. There you must drink.” Before we go Buyantogtoh passes the compulsory presents to every person. Tanja and I get soap. The members of the family mostly receive a T-shirt. Like it the politeness required they thank while they press the present to their forehead.

Puntsel who lives in a small tent has specially come for the festivities a few days ago from Tsagaan Nuur. The 77 year-old receives us in playful mood. “Come in! Comes in!”, she shouts and offers to us a place in the small tent on the low wooden boards. “How should we fit in then there everybody?”, I ask. Tanja twitches with the shoulders. “Here is still place! Come here Denis! Sit down beside me!”, shouts Gamba. The biscuits are hardly handed round from which of course everybody eats as he would have got the whole day still nothing, Puntsel passes us cigarettes. Again we take one and put it behind our ears, while the others start to smoke. Also here the shaman blesses the holy corner of the spirits with incense, thus thick smoke fog is in the small tent. Puntsel obviously has entertained other guests before us and is already a little bit drunk, puts the Buuz on the stove. To become them quickly done she pushes a few wooden logs in the fire.

The celebrating people are in best mood. The hot Buuz are now handed round. Everybody again takes of them like we had not eaten anything before. “Incredibly what the people can eat here”, I say to Tanja. “Hubaaa!” it sounds beside me and the little glass comes under my nose. Dutiful I accept it, sip at it and return it to Gamba. “Ügüj, ügüj (No). You must drink it up”, orders Gamba. “But, nevertheless, you have said just now I do not need to drink it all any more”, I remind him friendly. “I meant you do not need to drink any more so much to the Tsagaan Saar. But now you must drink to the hostess”, he explains. All eyes suddenly turn to me. Everybody would like to see whether I drink to Puntsel. “Hubaaa!”, I shout and rush the infernal stuff in the pharynx. It burns in the throat like fire and hits on my contracting stomach ground. The persons present laugh contently and the mug further circles. After the vodka bottle is empty Gamba wraps a bank note around and returns it to our hostess. Because I have observed this gesture already with Buyantogtoh I assign it to the custom. Puntsel accepts and lays it beside herself on the ground. Surprised I note a crafty sparkle in her eyes. Quick she reaches under the altar and conjures up a new vodka bottle. General laughter sounds. Gamba takes the important job to open and to bless it as usual. The gods and spirits who must be also drunk meanwhile get their part. Then the guests get their presents. This time Tanja and I receive socks. Gamba puts a T-shirt in his deel. Also the other put their presents in their deel.

After two vodka bottles are emptied, we go everybody together to visit the tepee of Darimaa and Ovogdorj. Ovogdorj is during the holidays with the reindeers. He wants to see how it goes for the deer and whether the protective fence which the men have established some time ago is still intact. We have heard that he has an Inflammation in his pancreas and so he cannot drink any more much. This could be the reason why he is during the celebration time not in the camp. Darimaa excuses the absence of her husband. We just sat down as Suren comes to the urtz. Because she is a poor woman and has a heavy, obviously useless alcoholic as a son, she escapes the embarrassment to have to give presents, while she visits the respective families.

On our feeling hearing we welcome her according to the ritual and pass her one bank note. She answers while she sniffs our cheeks and thanks us. Also Gamba, Puntsel, Saintsetseg, Tso and the others welcome her in this manner and pass her one bank note. Without talking a word the clan saves Suren the embarrassment of being valid as poor. Above all in this manner, health and luck is granted for her this year. As a hostess Darimaa entertains us according to all rules of the ritual. Meanwhile I sit beside the old Puntsel who makes me incessantly with her hotter and rough laughter happy. “I drink like a man and you like a woman. Hiiii, hi, hi, hi, hi”, she laughs. All persons present think this statement is extremely funny and occur in her laughter. I laugh as well to sit there not stupidly. Now Darimaa passes presents to each of her guests. This time Tanja and I get a card game, while Gamba again mends a T-shirt into his deel. “For this year he has probably enough shirts”, I say to Tanja.

At 21:00 o’clock we lie on the wandang and enjoy the clear star sky which we observe by the roof crown of our ger. “The biggest problem of the Tuwa is the vodka”, I say thoughtfully. “Looks thus”, believes Tanja. „They use Dschingis Khans name as a vodka brand to sell as much as they can of it. On top of that there comes the glorification of this drink. More one can stand the more strong one is valid in the Mongolian society. This is a pure nonsense. Since the only thing what the drink causes is dependence with the resultant of illness and early death following.The Tuwa own only few perspectives. Just like many people in the villages. The only way to kill time is simply alcohol. This is a disaster. I give not the guilt to the people, but to the custom, the advertisement and also the government which undertakes nothing against it.

If I think on it how the fathers boast before their sons, how much one can stand of this stuff and how these men lose their complete dignity. It is a real vicious circle. The worst are the fatal results. These people ruin their health. Their liver and pancreas breaks. They suffer from high blood pressure and many other results. If I only knew what one could undertake against it?“ “It looks like the Tuwa have a very high consumption of alcohol you may not forget that they drink during the holidays more than, otherwise. Apart from the fact the alcoholism is a worldwide challenge. This is not only with the Tuwa, the Mongols, the Siberians or at all other people. Also in Germany people drink a lot. There, however, people hide in their houses.”, says Tanja “You are right. I believe if one would like to do a little bit against it, it would be thus as one would like to control the snow in the mountains”, I answer resignedly the stars looking.